The Australian Labor Party (ALP), now led by Mr. Anthony Albanese, won an outright majority in the 151-member House of Representatives (see note), thereby regaining power after nearly 10 years in opposition. Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s Liberal-National coalition reduced its share of seats from 77 to 58 in the House of Representatives. However, it remained the largest force (known as Coalition (Opposition)) in the 76-member Senate, with 32 seats against the 26 seats held by the ALP. The Greens now hold a record 12 Senate seats, up from 9 previously.

A record 58 women (38.41%) were elected to the House of Representatives, up from 46 (30.67%) in 2019. In 2022, 60 per cent of the 40 candidates elected to the Senate were women. That increased the overall percentage of women in the Senate from 48.68 per cent to 56.58 per cent, the world’s highest percentage for upper chambers. On 22 May, Mr. Albanese was sworn in as the new Prime Minister by Governor-General David Hurley. On 1 June, his Cabinet, including a record 13 women, took office.

During election campaigning, the major parties focused on the economy, job creation, better Medicare and affordable childcare.

Note:
The Election Commission decision in July 2020 proposed, amongst others, to decrease the number of seats allotted to the Northern Territory from two to one, which would have reduced the statutory number of the House of Representatives from 151 to 150. However, that decision was repealed by amendments to electoral law, adopted by Parliament in December 2020. Consequently, the statutory number of the House of Representatives remained at 151.